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Aanyone who has picked up a flashing chestnut and rolled it around in the palm of their hand knows that sweet chestnuts are heavy things—too heavy to be carried by animals or birds, meaning that the chestnut landscape is largely man-made. Throughout history, chestnuts have been planted to provide food (especially in areas not suitable for cereal crops), wood and fuel, or as a gift for future generations. In her charming and informative book About chestnuts: the trees and their seedsRia Luhuizen recalls a proverb from France: “A man plants a peach tree for himself, an olive tree for his son, a chestnut tree for his grandson.”
Sweet chestnuts are not picked: they fall from the tree when ripe, so they must be collected on mats or with large vacuum cleaners. A friend of ours in Abruzzo, where chestnuts have always been of great economic importance, has a friend who has built his own collector, which consists of a soft wire basket on a stick, which he rolls on the ground so that the nuts are pressed between the gaps .
Traditionally, chestnut flour is prepared by drying the chestnuts in special huts, on racks over low heat. After drying, they are peeled and ground. In the 1920s, the mechanization of shelling revolutionized the process, meaning that the nuts could first be shelled, then dried using modern methods before being made into flour. Like the chestnuts from which it is made, the flour is naturally sweet, which is why it is sometimes known as farina dolce, or sweet flour. However, it has a savory sweetness and is ever so slightly astringent, which is why chestnut flour works so well in savory dishes: bread, polenta, pancakes and, as in today’s recipe, pasta.
Its lack of gluten means it also needs the support of plain flour; Carla Tomasigardener and my teacher, suggests a 50:50 split.
Loohuizen also notes that the sweet chestnut is a “sociable” tree and how it has a symbiotic relationship with the fungi that grow in the shady soil near the base of its trunk. The friends reunite in this week’s recipe, for which 500g of mixed mushrooms (chestnut, button, field, oyster) are cooked in a generous amount of herb butter and then tossed with tweed ribbons of harris chestnut paste.
Chestnut paste with mushrooms and herbs
preparation 30 min
Rest 30 min
cook 10 min
Serves 4
200d chestnut flour
200d plain white flour
4 eggs
500d mixed mushrooms – chestnut, button, field, oyster
60d oil
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves of garlicpeeled and grated
1 spd fresh thyme
100 ml thick cream (optionally)
Salt and pepper
A handful of parsleyminced meat
First make the pasta. On a board, in a bowl, or in a food processor, mix the flour and eggs until stiff. Let it rest, covered with an inverted bowl, for 30 minutes, roll out using a machine or rolling pin, cut into sheets about 20cm x 10cm, then cut the leaves into 8mm wide strips. Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil.
Mushrooms are cut into slices (if necessary first in halves or quarters). In a large, deep skillet or wok set over medium-low heat, melt the butter and olive oil with the garlic and thyme until the butter bubbles slightly. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, until softened. Allow the mushrooms to bubble gently in their juices for eight to 10 minutes, adding the cream, if using, and a few grinds of black pepper.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta, which will take about three minutes (keep stirring until it boils), then lift it directly into the mushroom pan along with the chopped parsley. Mix everything thoroughly and serve.
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